(wow, first time I've gone way over character limit and had to split a comment!)
Back to your comments instead of my own troubles, though - department culture does a great deal to set the importance of teaching for the faculty. If the department places an emphasis on good teaching, they will select new faculty hires based on how well they think they will do in classes as well as their research abilities. In addition, they will make sure that the research projects are such that undergraduate and graduate student training and mentoring is a large part of the laboratory research. There are a lot of studies out there showing that getting students involved in research as an undergraduate is associated with higher graduate rates and higher grades. This is one reason we do have research universities and not just teaching universities. Well, that and basic research - there is a huge split between industrial research (no sharing results until 10 years later when the lawyers have cleared it; no looking at any subjects that aren't designed to make profits within a 3-year time span) and academic (Oooh! Look at that useless shiny system over there! Let me study it!)
But the split between research and teaching in research universities will never be resolved while states are cutting funding to higher education - we spend a great deal more per student for the education than we get back in tuition dollars. The extra money has to come from somewhere - and currently that's the federal government, through grant indirect costs. Which is still coming from taxpayers, just much less directly than state support of higher education. In the meanwhile, I'll run myself ragged - and count myself lucky to be doing so in a job I love with sufficient financial reward, unlike the elementary, middle, and high school teachers who run themselves just as ragged, for students who care even less, and a lot lower salary. But that's another discussion entirely.
(By the way - you're totally right about us all being egotistical - I'll definitely admit that is one of my major character faults. And boy, does that make faculty meetings just a ton of fun when all of us type A personalities have to try to make communal decisions about anything! When each of us is obviously the most right!)
no subject
Back to your comments instead of my own troubles, though - department culture does a great deal to set the importance of teaching for the faculty. If the department places an emphasis on good teaching, they will select new faculty hires based on how well they think they will do in classes as well as their research abilities. In addition, they will make sure that the research projects are such that undergraduate and graduate student training and mentoring is a large part of the laboratory research. There are a lot of studies out there showing that getting students involved in research as an undergraduate is associated with higher graduate rates and higher grades. This is one reason we do have research universities and not just teaching universities. Well, that and basic research - there is a huge split between industrial research (no sharing results until 10 years later when the lawyers have cleared it; no looking at any subjects that aren't designed to make profits within a 3-year time span) and academic (Oooh! Look at that useless shiny system over there! Let me study it!)
But the split between research and teaching in research universities will never be resolved while states are cutting funding to higher education - we spend a great deal more per student for the education than we get back in tuition dollars. The extra money has to come from somewhere - and currently that's the federal government, through grant indirect costs. Which is still coming from taxpayers, just much less directly than state support of higher education. In the meanwhile, I'll run myself ragged - and count myself lucky to be doing so in a job I love with sufficient financial reward, unlike the elementary, middle, and high school teachers who run themselves just as ragged, for students who care even less, and a lot lower salary. But that's another discussion entirely.
(By the way - you're totally right about us all being egotistical - I'll definitely admit that is one of my major character faults. And boy, does that make faculty meetings just a ton of fun when all of us type A personalities have to try to make communal decisions about anything! When each of us is obviously the most right!)